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Teen Killed, 5 Five Hurt in Grisly South Bay Crash

A car crash near a major thoroughfare in Santa Clara killed a 15-year-old girl and injured five other people Friday afternoon, a police spokesman said. Ian Cull reports. (Published Friday, July 29, 2016)

A car crash near a major thoroughfare in Santa Clara killed a 15-year-old girl and injured five other people Friday afternoon, a police spokesman said.

The teen was a passenger in a white Chevrolet pickup truck heading south on Lafayette Street north of Montague Expressway, where the vehicle crashed into a pole, police Lt. Dan Moreno said.

The collision was reported at 3:13 p.m., Moreno said, and responding officers found six people inside the truck.

Employees at Taqueria Cazadores, which closed early Friday, told NBC Bay Area that the people in the truck were returning after catering an event in Oakland. The car crashed one block away from the restaurant.

"I'm trying to absorb it and believe that happened but I can't. I can't," Jordan said.

Witnesses reported the vehicle was driving at the speed limit, then for unknown reasons veered off the road and into a traffic signal, Moreno said. Police are now checking traffic cameras and the truck's own computer system to verify.

There were no obvious signs of drugs or alcohol being involved, but investigators are looking into the circumstances surrounding the crash, police said.

Southbound Lafayette Street was closed at Agnew Road through the evening commute. It was later reopened.

The slain passenger had not been identified as of Friday night.

UPDATE #2: employees say the group was returning from catering an event in Oakland. They crashed 1 block away. pic.twitter.com/Eb1Hcjlrij